At least 17 people were killed and another 50 injured when a passenger train derailed in Iran. Photo: AFP
A passenger train carrying nearly 350 people derailed in Iran when it collided with a bulldozer, leaving a toll of at least 17 dead and 50 wounded.
The accident occurred in the early hours of this Wednesday and the images of how the training was left raise fears that the number of victims may be higher.
Four of the train’s seven carriages, in which some 348 people were traveling, went off the track in the early morning darkness near Tabas, state television said. The city, located in the desert, is located about 550 kilometers southeast of the capital, Tehran.
According to what was reported by the state agency IRNA, the Railways of the Islamic Republic reported on Wednesday the train collided with a bulldozercausing derailment.
A train carrying nearly 350 passengers derailed near the deserted town of Tabas. Photo: AP
Squads of ambulances and helicopters traveled to the remote area, where communications are poor. More than a dozen were in critical condition and some were taken to local hospitals, authorities said.
In remarks published by the Iranian media, the governor of Tabas Ali Akbar Rahimi said that at least 17 people have died in the accident and that the number could increase as rescuers check the cars.
They showed aerial images of the crash site wagons lying on their side of the track and some rescuers ran towards them as they tried to treat the wounded.
State television later broadcast footage from a hospital where the wounded were receiving treatment. One of them said he heard the train stop suddenly and then slow down before derailing.
“The passengers jumped into the car like balls in the air,” said the passenger, who was not identified by the net.
The accident occurred about 50 kilometers from Tabas, on the road that connects the city with the city of Yazd, in the center of the country.
Rescuers work at the site where a passenger train derailed in Iran. Photo: AP
The first data from the investigation would indicate that the excavator was there for repair work.
The worst train wreck in the country occurred in 2004, when an uncontrolled convoy loaded with petrol, fertilizer, sulfur and cotton crashed near the historic city of Neyshabur, causing 320 deaths, about 460 injuries and damage to five villages. Another accident in 2016 resulted in dozens of deaths and injuries.
Iran has about 14,000 km of railway lines through which people and goods move throughout the country, especially in rural areas.
With AP information
GRB
Source: Clarin
